


Byron and the rock star

by Thenerdintheattic



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who: Eighth Doctor Adventures - Various Authors
Genre: Band, M/M, Multiple Doctors (Doctor Who), Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-24 02:37:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thenerdintheattic/pseuds/Thenerdintheattic
Summary: The Doctor kicking time regulations in the nuts to start a band with himself





	Byron and the rock star

**Author's Note:**

> So a couple of days ago I started obsessing with Eight and Twelve starting a band together because why not? And there it is!  
> I’m not really sure about characterisation. I think Bill is okay, but I haven’t written about Eight in a long time and don’t think I ever wrote about Twelve.   
> Also, English is not my mother tongue, so please feel free to let me know if you see any grammar/spelling/vocab mistakes, I’m always in for improving :)

“Doctor, hmm … this doesn’t look like 21st century London.” 

The Doctor went out of the TARDIS, sniffed the air and took a look around. 

“Ah. Yes. I see. It’s because it’s not London. We’re in Bristol.”   
“Bristol?”

Fitz Kreiner turned around to sweep with his eyes the place they had arrived to. The TARDIS had landed in some sort of peculiar circus. It was the centre of a massive roundabout and you could cross the street circling it by using four tunnels going in four different directions. In front of Fitz a double-decker had been painted in green and was now used as a burrito restaurant. All around, people were skating and playing football, or just crossing from one tunnel to another while a group of young people was tagging a wall. Actually, the walls surrounding the place were covered in graffiti, an explosion of colours and shapes, the heart of the artistic centre of Bristol. 

“We may not be in London, but we’re definitely in the 21st century.” The Doctor announced rather proud with himself. Fitz thought that it was not that far away from where and when they had planned to go after all. “This is the St James Barton Roundabout. Also known as the Bear Pit.” 

“The Bear Pit? Odd name” 

The Doctor looked up and Fitz followed his gaze. Right behind them was a massive statue of black and white bear. Fitz took a step back to see it better. He could not really realise how big it was but he felt slightly uncomfortable looking at it. He turned around and started to walk towards the entrance of one of the tunnel. He stopped when the Doctor called him but did not come back to him. 

“I’m going to explore!” he glowed at him. “Are you coming?”   
“Start without me, I’ve got to check something in the TARDIS. And be careful!” 

He shrugged and left him. The Doctor always had something to check with the TARDIS. Fitz loved the Doctor and he knew that his friend felt the same. But their relationship was far from being normal. How could it be when the two of them were travelling in time and space in police-box shaped time machine? But Fitz loved his Doctor anyway, despite his strangeness, his flaws and fragility. He loved him because he was the sweetest man he had ever encounter and also, because the Doctor needed him, he needed Fitz to take care of him as much as Fitz needed the Doctor. And when the Doctor was too alien or Fitz was too human, Fitz would remember that it did not matter because he was worth any trouble. 

He exited the tunnel and went up a flight of stairs. He arrived in a busy street, probably the city centre. He followed the crowd, marvelling at the fashion sense of the people around him. When he got tired of so much promiscuity, he abandoned the crowd and turned right. He ended up in another busy street with even more shops. But it did not matter. He went inside one shop and tried on a couple of hats. He was admiring himself in a mirror and wondering if the Doctor would like it when he noticed her reflection. His curiosity picked, he turned around. She was behind him, looking at some clothes. Taking advantage of the fact that she had not noticed him yet, he detailed her. She was tall and wearing jeans with a yellow jacket that made her dark skin look even more beautiful. As she was focusing on another piece of clothing, she smiled. That’s when he decided to come and talk to her. 

“Hi there, gorgeous.” He smiled and winked when she turned towards him. She stared at him in complete bewilderment before starting to laugh.   
“Are you talking to me?” she asked with no trace of aggressiveness.   
“I don’t see anyone else as remarkable as you.” 

She looked around, clearly amused. 

“Sorry mate. I’m not really interested.” She took a step closer to him, as if she was going to tell him a secret. “I’m not into guys.” 

Fitz smiled broadly, almost relieved. Flirting was a second nature for him and he was aware that he could never not look at a pretty girl. Or a handsome guy. But he also knew that he would not act upon it. Not anymore. He usually did not get much anyway out of his pitiful attempt at seducing people, but even if it did work, he would simply pay the lady or the man a drink and disappear. There was only one person in Fitz’s heart and bed. 

“That’s totally cool. I wasn’t really interested in you either.” 

She frowned and crossed her arms with a predatory smile. 

“I know that I just blew you off but that’s not very nice to hear all the same.” 

He raised his hands apologetically. 

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend you. I do find you hot, but there’s already someone.” 

She raised an eyebrow. 

“I see… And how does she feel knowing that you flirt with other girls?”   
“He doesn’t notice most of the time. And when he does, well, he doesn’t mind.” 

The second eyebrow rose. He shook his head and they both smiled at each other. Fitz liked that girl, there was nothing sexual there, but he had the feeling that they could become very good friends. 

“I’m Fitz, by the way. Fitz Kreiner.”   
“Bill Potts.” 

They fell silent, as if everything had been said. As Fitz was still staring at her, Bill looked away. The guy seemed dorky but she liked him. She could tell he was a bit of a loser but instead of pitying him, she felt close to him. She, too, was usually struggling to flirt with girls and she kind of recognized herself a bit in him. 

“I know we’ve just met and I’m totally not flirting, but do you want to grab a drink or something?”

Bill pondered that for a minute before nodding. 

“Sure. But I’m supposed to meet a friend of mine in a coffee shop nearby, you should definitely join us, I’m sure you’ll like him.” 

Fitz agreed. He thought about going to get the Doctor but knew that he would be able to find him anyway. 

“Alright.” 

He joined Bill and they went out of the shop before starting to walk towards a coffee shop nearby. The girl looked inside, searching for someone and when she did not see them, went to order a coffee with Fitz. 

“My friend isn’t here yet but he’ll be here soon, he went to buy new strings for his guitar.”   
“I play guitar too.” 

They took their drinks and found a table near to the entrance. They waited barely five minutes until Bill waved to a man entering the coffee shop. Fitz had expected him to be around the same age as his friend but he was older, around 60 he would have said. He was dressed in the most peculiar way : a black attire with a white shirt that looked out of this time. And his hair looked even crazier than Bill’s. There was also something oddly familiar about him 

“Doctor!”

Fitz frowned. Doctor? Surely another kind of doctor. Unless…   
The man joined them, a huge smile eating his face. He did not seem to have noticed Fitz, his whole attention being focused on Bill. 

“I found them, Bill!”   
“Yeah, that’s great but we have company. Please behave.” 

His eyebrows went as crazy as his hair as he turned and discovered Fitz. He stared at him for some long seconds in a way that made Fitz feel both uncomfortable and … at home. Fitz probed the man’s eyes. They looked very old, older than the man’s appearance suggested. They were also filled with so much sadness, sadness that was not there when he had entered the coffee shop, Fitz was certain of it.

“Hello Fitz.” He said with a tenderness that surprised Bill. 

He sat next to her, ignoring (or not seeing, more likely) her puzzled expression. 

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”   
“How do you know me?” Fitz asked. He was not sure to want to hear the answer to that.  
“Don’t you know?” 

He shook his head. Of course he knew. The Doctor had told him about regeneration and even if he had not, he would have been able to recognize him anyway. But he was not going to let his guard down so easily. 

“It’s me. The Doctor.” The man grinned.   
“Prove it.” His voice was harsher than he had intended to be. The smile on the Doctor’s face faded.   
“Fitz, Fitz, Fitz. You were born in 1936. Your mum was staying in an elderly home, where I first met you, with Sam Jones. Your dad was German and you were bullied at school because of it. You drink a bit too much, I think I told you that before. You always oversleep in the morning and when you do get out of bed, you need your cup of coffee before doing anything. You did a lot for me, Fitz Kreiner.”  
“I still am, Doc!” 

The Doctor grimaced. 

“Please don’t call me that. I never liked it.” 

Fitz ignored him and turned his attention towards Bill. 

“So, you’re travelling with him?” 

She nodded with a big smile on her face. 

“Yeah. You did too?”   
“Yes. He was a different man by then, though. Right Doc?” 

The Doctor crossed his arms. 

“I regenerated several times since then, yes.”   
“Wait! What do you mean ‘regenerated’?” Bill interrupted.   
“When he’s about to die, he changes his body. His old self dies, in a way, but the Doctor survives. He becomes a new man.”   
“That’s typically you! Going around and changing faces. You know what? That’s weird. You’re weird.”  
“That’s an understatement.” Fitz joined in. 

The two companions shared a look and smiled at each other. They understood one another. 

“Anyway.” The Doctor rolled his eyes, breaking the moment. “Your Doctor must be around somewhere.”  
“Probably looking for me. Unless he’s still checking the TARDIS.”   
“This one does that too.” Bill laughed. “Always has something to check there. I’m sure he doesn’t even know what he’s doing most of the time. It’s kind of sad, really.”   
“If you had lived as long as me and seen so many people go away, you too would hold on to the thing that has been with you through the darkest of times.” 

Those words woke a deep, primal fear in Fitz’s heart. What had happened to him? Why had he stopped travelling with the Doctor?   
Bill, on the other hand, rolled her eyes. 

“He likes to play all grumpy and dramatic, but inside he’s a teddy bear.”   
“A teddy bear?”   
“I should find my Doctor.” Fitz interrupted. 

The Doctor agreed and the three of them left the coffee shop. They walked for a while in silence until the Doctor stopped. 

“We should leave you here.” He said. “I wouldn’t want to meet myself.” 

Fitz nodded and as he was about to say goodbye to Bill, a call behind them froze the three new friends. 

“Fitz! There you are!” 

The three of them exchanged a look and slowly turned around to see Fitz’s Doctor running towards them.

“The TARDIS picked up temporal dis…” he stopped mid-sentence when he noticed the strangers. “Oh. Hi. Care to introduce your new friends, Fitz.” 

He exchanged a look with the older Doctor who grimaced. 

“Dreadful fashion sense!” he groaned.   
“Like you have any notion of fashion sense!” Bill exclaimed.   
“Mind you, I’ve been worse than that.” 

The younger Doctor frowned and looked for Fitz’s gaze but he seemed to be avoiding him. 

“Who are you?” he asked the strangers. 

Bill walked forward with a smile. 

“I’m Bill Potts. Nice to meet you.”   
“And I’m the Doctor. Doctor Disco.”   
“You are not calling yourself Doctor Disco!” Bill shook her head. She could forgive her friend’s eccentricities but this was beyond her strength. 

The younger Doctor looked at them, half bewildered half worried. His Time Lord instinct was telling him to go away, quick, and he decided to listen to it. Some mysteries were better left unsolved. 

“Come on Fitz. Let’s go.” 

He exchanged a look with Bill and after muttering a ‘goodbye’, followed his Doctor. They had not gone five metres that the older Doctor came after them, followed by his companion. 

“Doctor! Wait! I take that you still have your violin.” 

The Doctor slowly turned around, frowning. He gave a quizzical look to Fitz, who simply shrugged and stepped backwards, just like Bill did. The two Doctor were now facing each other. One was smiling, eager to witness the look of recognition that would soon shake his other self. The other one was still frowning. The man in front of him seemed to know him and yet, he had no recollection of having seen him before. Had he forgotten him? That would not even be surprising and he started to wonder how many companions he had forgotten over the years. Unless he did not know the man at all and Fitz had been talking too much. No, he trusted Fitz with his life. There was also this look on the other man’s face. A look that he knew very well. And those eyes … Where had he seen the light in these eyes before? 

“Who are you?” he asked knowing that he would not like the answer.   
“Come on Doctor, you know who I am.” 

Yes. I also know where I’ve seen this expression before : in a mirror. 

“Good grief! Do I regenerate into you?” 

The older Doctor, far from being offended, laughed. 

“Not directly, I’m afraid. But we get there in the end.” 

The younger Doctor raised an eyebrow but did not answer. He detailed his future self with attention, aware that he probably would not keep any recollection of this extraordinary meeting. Beyond his smile and his idiotic expression, he perceived there a darker man than he was. Himself was already darker than he’d been after his regeneration, every new sorrow and trial eating away his innocence and light heart. He wondered with some kind of horror if he was the reason why his future self was so sombre. What had happened to him? 

“So how about this violin?” the older Doctor repeated.   
“Why do you care so much about that?”   
“I’m a musician myself, and with you playing the violin and Fitz here, I thought we could start a band!”

Not only had he gone dark but he was also completely mad. The younger Doctor would have seriously worried for his future if his future self had not been showing so much enthusiasm and excitement. One must never cross one’s own time line, or so the first law of time said. Or whichever law it was. And there he was, about to give a massive kick to time travel regulation to start a band with one of his future regeneration. The younger Doctor smiled from ear to ear. Let’s live a little. 

“A band? Are you serious?” Fitz demanded.   
“You should be flattered. I play the guitar because of you.” 

Fitz lowered his head to hide his blushing and if the two Doctors were getting too hyped to notice, it was not the case of Bill. As the Time Lords decided to go and fetch the Doctor’s violin and Fitz’s guitar in the TARDIS before going to the Bristol University, she slowed down a bit, to stay behind with Fitz. 

“So.” She asked. “Are you and the Doctor …”   
“Me and the Doctor what?” he asked defensively.   
“He’s that special person, right?” 

He hesitated before taking a cigarette out and lighted it. 

“How did you guess?” 

Bill shrugged and looked at the two Doctors walking in front of them. 

“I’ve seen how you look at him. I’ve had crush before too, you know.”   
“It’s more than a crush.” 

She smiled sadly. Nardole had mentioned the Doctor’s wife, River Song, but she had never imagined him with anyone and knowing that at some point in his past, he had had someone like Fitz Kreiner loving him and caring for him made her happy. 

“You two!” the older Doctor shouted at them without turning back. “Don’t linger on. If you get lost, kidnapped or put yourself into mortal danger again, we won’t come and get you.” 

Bill and Fitz glanced at each other and ran to join their friends. 

 

The Doctor was a university teacher. Fitz had almost burst out of laughter when Bill had announced that as they were getting inside his office. He was having a very hard time imagining his friend preparing and giving a lecture without getting distracted and losing his train of thoughts. His Doctor, though, seemed impressed and was looking curiously on the desk of his future regeneration. 

“Susan!” he exclaimed when he saw her portrait. “And who’s that?” 

The older Doctor looked at the picture of River Song with heartache. 

“Spoiler.”

Fitz’s Doctor shrugged and walked away. He took his violin out of his case while the other Doctor was plugging his electric guitar. Bill looked at them with interest. Her Doctor could prove to be annoying with his instrument sometimes but she was very curious to see what their little band would be. 

“The Doc and I already have a couple of songs rehearsed.” Fitz said.   
“I know. I remember them.”   
“I’m not sure that they’re fit for electric guitar, though.” The younger Doctor intervened. “They’re more romantic than rock.”   
“Rock can be romantic.” 

The older Doctor started to play a melancholic, sad tune, that Bill had heard him play a couple of time before. 

“That’s not romantic, that’s barbarian.”   
“And you’re too sentimental!”   
“I think we can find a compromise, right Doctor?” Fitz had put himself between the two of them. “You two have two different styles, but I’m sure we can make this work.” 

The two Time Lords agreed reluctantly and Fitz and his Doctor started to play. Bill listened as her Doctor joined in and couldn’t help a smile. She observed them for several hours, playing and arguing, but she got bored after a while and decided to go out. 

When she came back, three hours later, they were still playing. She listened to the soft music of the younger Doctor’s violin as the other two were playing in the background. When they saw her, the three men stopped, silently deciding to take a break. 

“How did it go?” she asked with a wide smile. 

Fitz shook his head. 

“Quite well when they stopped bickering.” 

The two doctors shared a look and decided not to reply to that. Fitz rolled his eyes but beneath his mask of annoyance, she knew he had had a great time : the flame in his eyes was not fooling anyone. 

As he and the older Doctor were comparing their guitars, Bill came closer to Fitz’s Doctor. She had not had the occasion to speak to him yet and was very curious to know more about him. He was looking out of the window and turned around when she sat in the armchair that was sitting there. 

“Hi.” She said. 

He replied with a charming smile that made her roll her eyes. Fitz was flirty in a not so subtle way but his Doctor was a charmer too, not with cheap catch phrases – somehow she felt it would have been wrong - but in a more romantic way that was not without reminding her about Lord Byron. She realized that love was a very important part of both their lives. Looking for it, growing it, celebrating it and she thought that the two of them could not be better paired. Her own Doctor on the other hand was completely different. She knew he had been married and yet, imagining him in love with someone seemed very peculiar to her. It made her feel sad. 

“Miss Potts, right?”   
“Yeah, people usually call me Bill, though.”   
“Right, Bill. How did you end up with him? With me?” 

She looked at her Doctor. He was now chatting with Fitz. 

“He’s my tutor.” She paused. “He’s amazing, he’s like the best person I know. But don’t tell him that, he’d be insufferable.” 

The Doctor mimicked locking his mouth. 

“Wait, but if I told you, he’ll remember it!” 

He shook his head with a smile. 

“I wouldn’t worry about that. I probably won’t retain any memory of this…”   
“How come?” 

He shrugged, almost in a fatalistic way. 

“That tends to happen. A lot.” 

Bill pouted but chose not to say anything. She focused her attention on her Doctor and Fitz again, observing them interact with each other. The Doctor was explaining something to him, he was wearing his professor expression, the one he took when he was teaching her something. She smiled fondly. Bill loved the old man. She had never known her dad and had lacked a paternal figure in her life, until the Doctor had arrived. She turned towards the other Doctor again. 

“Can I ask you a question?”   
“You just did.” 

She ignored that and took it as a ‘yes’. Even if he was pretending to be annoyed, the Doctor never refused a question. She was convinced that this was true whatever in incarnation. He had to retain some core personality traits and missing an occasion to share his knowledge was definitely never an option. 

“Why us?”   
“You’ll have to be more precise.” 

She sighed. 

“Ok, stop me if I’m wrong. You have a tendency to travel with humans. Fitz, me. And I’m sure there’s been plenty more.” 

He nodded. 

“So why us? Why humans? Why not Martians or whatever?” 

The Doctor turned towards the window and for a moment, she thought he was not going to answer. 

“I have travelled with other species but I guess you’re right, most of my companions were humans. To me, you’re the most fascinating species.” Bill raised an eyebrow but he did not let her comment on that. “You’re such a complex species, all physically so similar.”   
“You can’t possibly look at Fitz and me and tell us we look the same.” She interrupted.   
“On the outside, maybe not. But at the core, on a physiological level, you’re the same. Same species.”  
“Ok, we’re all the same inside.” She did not sound convinced. “If you want. But still. I’m female, Fitz is a guy. Even inside we’re different.” 

He shrugged. 

“It’s only gender.”   
“Only? You’re a guy, you were born a guy. Surely you’re different from female Time Lords. How do you even call them?”   
“I’m a man now. Next time I might be a woman” 

She frowned. 

“Don’t tell me Time Lords can also change sexe.”   
“Why not?” 

Bill opened her eyes wide. 

“That’s … weird. But kinda cool. Have you ever been a woman?” 

He shook his head. 

“Not that I remember.” 

Bill let this information find its way towards the ‘need to have a talk with the Doctor’ part of her brain. 

“Ok.” She finally said. “Let’s say that us humans are very similar, I’m not saying that I agree but you know… Is it the only reason why you travel with us? If it is, I’ll be a tad disappointed, I must tell you.”  
“I didn’t say similar, I said physically similar. That’s the paradox of it. You look the same but you’re all so different, at the same time. All of you, when you first step in the TARDIS, are a complete mystery to me, no matter how many humans I’ve travelled with before. Discovering you is as exciting as discovering a new planet.” 

Bill grinned. 

“You’re pulling my leg.” 

The Doctor shook his head and looked at Fitz. 

“I’m not.” 

Bill’s smile faded. She followed his gaze and put her hand on his arm. 

“He’s different to you, though.”   
“Something happened to me.” He started hesitantly. “I forgot who I was. I became a mystery to myself. Fitz was my constant, I knew him better than myself and he knew me more than himself probably.”  
“I’m sorry.” 

He shrugged and they both fell silent.   
Fitz observed Bill and his Doctor chatting. He wondered what they were talking about and resisted the urge to join them. The Doctor sitting next to him drew his attention away. 

“Hey Doc.” He smirked at the grimace that followed.   
“Hey Fitzgerald.” 

Fitz’s smirk turned into an expression of horror. The Doctor laughed and Fitz decided to imitate him when he stopped feeling like he had been hit in the stomach. 

“Ok, point made.”   
“It’s nice seeing you again, Fitz.” 

Fitz sighed. He had a lot of questions burning his lips but he knew that the Doctor would not replied, which was making the whole situation very frustrating. What was the point in having a future version of his Doctor if he couldn’t ask a couple of question? His curiosity, though, always got the best of him and he gave in. 

“What happens to me, Doctor?” 

The Doctor did not reply at once. Probably he had forgotten how and when they had parted, Fitz thought bitterly. No, that was unfair, he decided. He could not blame the Doctor for forgetting. It was not his fault if he was all messed up but it was Fitz’s responsibility to make sure he was ok. The only good thing he would ever do. 

“You know I can’t tell you that.”   
“Come on, you’re blatantly ignoring your laws of time to start a band with yourself and you can’t even give me a clue about my future?” 

The Doctor smiled but shook his head. 

“There’s one thing I can tell you. The best is yet to come, Fitz. Don’t lose hope.”   
“Is it with you?”   
“I can’t answer.”   
“It has to be though. My best can only be with you.” Now there was desperation in Fitz’s voice that broke the Doctor’s hearts. “Without you, I’m worth nothing. I’m a loser.”   
“It’s not my role to show you how wrong you are, it’s his. But I can promise you, he will. I did.”

The Doctor’s expression that had softened became hard again. 

“And now stop whining. No one ever accomplished anything by whining.”   
“Sorry.”  
“Hey. Bill’s got a great idea.” 

The younger Doctor’s intervention prevented Fitz from being rebuffed again by the older Doctor. They both got up. 

“That wasn’t MY idea, Doctor.” Bill protested, in vain.   
“Bill can be our singer.” He ignored her. 

The older Doctor raised a sceptic eyebrow. 

“I’m very flattered guys, really. But I can’t sing.”   
“This one can’t play the guitar.” The Doctor gestured towards his future self. “That’s not a problem.”   
“Oi! No need to be rude.” The older one protested.   
“I’m not rude. But one needs to be honest with oneself.” 

Before the two Time Lords could start bickering like an old couple again, Fitz stood between them. 

“The lyrics for my songs are in the TARDIS and we’re not going to get them, that’s one problem solved. As for you two, stop depreciating yourselves. You’re both great, admit it and move on. Besides, self-pity is usually my stuff, I won’t accept competition.” 

The Doctors frowned, agreed to apologise to each other and the incident was forgotten. 

“Anyway, I think we should go, Doctor.” Fitz started. His Doctor was about to agree but Bill cut him.   
“Oh wait. I’d like to listen to you. Do you think I could have a private concert?” 

Fitz grinned charmingly. 

“Of course!” 

He grabbed his guitar and the two Time Lords imitated him after having shared a look. Bill made herself comfortable in the Doctor’s armchair as the three musicians were conversing in a low voice. Finally, they seemed to agree and took position – Fitz in the middle, slightly in the back and the two Doctors on his flanks. One silent minute passed and the violin started. The music was slow and melancholic, a tune that seemed to suit this particular incarnation of the Time Lord. Then, Fitz’s guitar joined in and they played together a song that they had played together a hundred times. It should have clashed when the electric guitar joined in but it didn’t. The Doctor reproduced their soft tune and Bill thought they were doing rather well. When the first song finished, she clapped enthusiastically. They played two more songs, more rock, livelier, where the older Doctor lead the other two. Fitz was obviously having a lot of fun and even the younger Doctor was using his instrument perfectly, in a range that was not so familiar to him. If she had to be perfectly honest, Bill would not have thought that the violin and the electric guitar would be well matched, a reflection of their owners’ characters. But they did rather brilliantly and as she was watching Byron and the Rock star getting on so well, her heart lifted a little. They finished their improvised concert with Fitz original song. It was serene and romantic, like a ballad and Fitz’s voice, slightly out of tune, brought shivers down Bill’s spine. When they were finished, the three of them bowed in front of their small audience and she cheered. 

“That was amazing!” she congratulated them. 

The Time Lords accepted her comment with modesty and a smile, but Fitz had to make a fuss of it. His Doctor stopped his fervour by putting a hand on his mouth. 

“Thanks Bill, that’s very kind. But I’m afraid we should leave now. We’ve already stayed together too long.”   
“He’s right.” Her Doctor stepped in. “Besides, if Nardole finds out I started a band with myself, I’ll never hear the end of it.” 

Bill agreed and they started to say goodbye. She hugged Fitz, making him promise to visit her if he was still around in 2018, as the two Doctors were shaking hands. 

“It’s reassuring to know that my future is in good hands.” 

The older Doctor smiled faintly. He knew what was ahead of his younger self and if the temptation to give him a peek was high, he resisted and kept his mouth shut. Instead, he turned towards Fitz. 

“It was nice seeing you again, Fitz. Take care.”   
“You too, Doctor.” 

Fitz was about to step back but the Doctor trapped him in a hug. The Time Lord did not want his old friend to see his face, and if Fitz saw nothing indeed, Bill did notice his wet eyes and promised herself to take good care of her Doctor. 

“Goodbye, Bill.” 

To her surprise, the younger Doctor kissed her on the cheek and after having taken their instruments, he and Fitz were gone. 

She and her Doctor looked down from the window at them walking away. It was only long after that they had disappeared that they turned towards each other. 

“Does it happen often that you run into yourself? It must be when you’re a time traveller.”   
“Now and then.” He replied with a mysterious smile. “And always when it’s needed.”


End file.
